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True Grit Garrison Hearst refused to call it quits despite two seasons on the sidelines with a debilitating ankle injury, and now he's back in stride and playing a key role in the 49ers' surprising run to the playoffs

True Grit Garrison Hearst refused to call it quits despite two seasons on the sidelines with a debilitating ankle injury, and now he's back in stride and playing a key role in the 49ers' surprising run to the playoffs

Her heart was broken, but Mary Hearst had to stay strong. Herbaby was in pain, and when the tears came streaming down hischeeks, she did what a mother does--wiped them away and assuredhim that everything would be O.K. Three years ago this week herson, Garrison, the San Francisco 49ers' star running back, waslying on the training table in the visitors' locker room of theGeorgia Dome, his fractured left ankle throbbing, as the muffledsounds of a shattered season resonated from above. The constantcheers told Hearst that the Atlanta Falcons were eliminating histeam from the playoffs, ending a year in which he had set afranchise rushing record and earned his first trip to the ProBowl. What hurt most was that Hearst, having snapped his legwhile carrying the ball on the game's first play from scrimmage,was powerless to alter his team's fortunes.

"Garrison, don't worry," said Michael Dillingham, the 49ers'orthopedist. "I've dealt with this type of injury before. You'llbe back next year." Hearst's father, Gary, and his agent, PatDye Jr., offered similarly reassuring words, but the normallyebullient running back was devastated. He started to speak, andMary sensed what was coming: Why me? "No, don't say that," shesaid, cutting him off in mid-sentence. "You're very fortunate.It could have been worse. You're going to be fine."

Mother knew best, of course. Her son would indeed reclaim hischerished role, prodding the Niners back into the playoffs withhis fearless running style and peerless running of the mouth.All it took was 32 months of rehab, seven surgeries--including acutting-edge procedure that Dillingham believes had not beenattempted on a pro athlete--and unshakable faith, and Hearst isright back where he always figured he'd be.

"I never thought I wouldn't play again," Hearst said recently atthe 49ers' training facility in Santa Clara. "One specialist Isaw a few months after the injury told me to start preparing forlife after football, and I know a lot of people around herethought I was through. But those people didn't know what wasinside of me."

Pardon the rest of us if we didn't see this coming. Hearst, whoturned 31 on Jan. 4, has become the most inspirational player onone of the NFL's most improbable contenders, and last Wednesdayhe cemented his comeback by being selected to the Pro Bowl. Hisstats through 15 games--1,149 yards on 237 carries, for a hefty4.85-yard average--do not adequately reflect his impact. WhenHearst's ankle snapped, so did the once mighty Niners, who went10-22 in his absence. While Hearst is not the only reason forSan Francisco's turnaround in 2001, he is certainly thefranchise's pride and joy. "I can't imagine any player meaningas much to a team," tackle Derrick Deese says.

As the 49ers prepare for their first playoff game since thatgrim day in Atlanta, Hearst's recovery stands as this season'spreeminent feel-good story. "I root for the guy, and I thinkeverybody in the league does," says the NFL's best running back,Marshall Faulk, who plays for the rival St. Louis Rams. Even themen who tackle Hearst feel warm and fuzzy about his return."He's one of those guys you want to hit hard and then help upwith a smile," says Miami Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas, whoseteam gave up 103 rushing yards to Hearst in a 21-0 San Franciscowin on Dec. 16. "We respect a guy who's fought his way backafter sitting out two years, and he came back better than before."

As recently as 20 months ago, Hearst faced the possibility thathe might never again walk normally. By the spring of 2000 a rarecirculatory condition called avascular necrosis had limited theblood flow to his ankle, causing his talus bone to begindegenerating. Dillingham says Hearst was in danger of having toundergo surgery to fuse the bones in his ankle.

The condition, which afflicted Hearst in the aftermath of theinitial surgery to stabilize the ankle with screws and plates inearly 1999, was the same one that had forced former RaidersAll-Pro running back Bo Jackson to retire from football and toundergo hip-replacement surgery. Hearst's second majorprocedure, in July '99 by Dillingham and orthopedic surgeon MikeMont, involved boring holes into the dying parts of the talus,then inserting bone plugs from a cadaver. Five months later,however, the bone still wasn't healing, and as Hearst headedinto a second off-season of rehabilitation, Dillingham wasrunning out of options. He turned to Pierce Scranton, aSeattle-based specialist who had treated conditions similar toHearst's by breaking the ankle near the top, cleaning out thedecaying parts and inserting plugs grafted from another part ofthe patient's body. On May 6, 2000, in Seattle, Scranton andDillingham performed the operation that would revive a bone, aplayer and a team.

The two doctors were stunned by the devastation theyencountered. Despite the previous efforts to repair it, the mostdamaged parts of Hearst's talus bone, Dillingham recalls, "hadthe consistency of toothpaste." During a 3 1/2-hour procedurethe surgeons removed bone and cartilage from Hearst's right kneeand used it to reconstruct the ankle. "Garrison stayed upbeat,but sooner or later I thought he might throw in the towel,"admits Niners coach Steve Mariucci.

Yet even with $2 million of tax-free disability insurancewaiting for him should he choose to retire, Hearst neverwavered. "I tried to drop some hints about postcareer options,"Mary Hearst says, "but he'd say, 'Mama, I'm gonna play football.I can't go out like this.'"

Hearst's pride may have seemed foolish to some, but it helpedpersuade the 49ers to keep him around through two seasons ofinactivity. Physical therapist Lisa Giannone, who helped Hearstrehab during the 2000 off-season, remembers him stubbornlyhobbling through agility drills at her facility while clingingto the football he carried during the 96-yard scoring run thathad given the Niners an overtime victory over the New York Jetsin the 1998 season opener. "It wasn't logical that he'd make itback," Giannone says, "but there was something about his spiritthat made you believe he'd find a way to play again."

The 49ers prayed he would. After four frustrating seasons withthe Phoenix and Arizona Cardinals and the Cincinnati Bengals,Hearst, the third pick in the 1993 draft, found a comfort zoneupon signing with San Francisco in '97, running for 1,019 yardsin his first season and a franchise-best 1,570 in his second.His rare set of skills--hitting holes without hesitation,breaking tackles like a 5'11", 215-pound wrecking ball,sacrificing his body to pick up blitzers and turning swingpasses into big gains--made him ideally suited for the team'sball-control offense.

San Francisco's rushing game stayed strong with the emergence ofshifty Charlie Garner in 1999 and 2000, but without Hearst theteam was incomplete. By the 2000 season the Niners were inrebuilding mode, and Hearst felt detached. "I got to the pointwhere I couldn't handle not being part of it anymore," herecalls. "I couldn't watch football." Midway through the seasonhe began spending game days in the bowels of 3Com Park, pedalingfuriously on an exercise bike in an area adjacent to the team'slocker room, vaguely aware of the distant crowd noise butoblivious to what was transpiring on the field.

Finally, after undergoing arthroscopic surgery last January onhis fibula and tibia, Hearst began to resemble his old self.Garner had signed a free-agent deal with the Raiders, leavingHearst to compete for the starting job with rookie Kevan Barlow,San Francisco's third-round draft choice. Hearst held up throughtraining camp and appeared to have won the position, but oneobstacle remained. A week before the start of the season,Mariucci delivered sobering news from the front office: Hearstwould risk being released if he didn't restructure his contract.

Hearst was crushed. Hadn't he made his deal more cap-friendly afew months earlier? Hadn't he earned his spot? "Mooch, tell meone thing," Hearst demanded. "Do you think I can help this teamwin?"

"Yes," Mariucci replied.

"That's all I want to know," Hearst said. He gave the team whatit wanted, trading easily reachable incentives, such as gaininga single rushing yard or playing 1% of the team's snaps, fortougher standards. In exchange Hearst got the Niners to increasehis potential take, and it appears his gamble will pay off. Dyesays Hearst, who could have made no more than $1.8 million underthe previous arrangement, now is likely to earn more than $2million.

Getting back on the field was one thing; regaining his form wasanother. In the season opener, against the Falcons at 3Com, his11-yard run in overtime set up the Niners' game-winning fieldgoal. Beginning with a 17-carry, 145-yard effort in a 28-27victory over the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 11, Hearst had four100-yard rushing games in a six-week span. Yet 49ers runningbacks coach Tom Rathman thinks Hearst's best play of 2001 mayhave come in pass protection during the victory over theDolphins. Pinned deep in their own territory while holding a14-0 lead in the third quarter, the Niners embarked on atouchdown drive after quarterback Jeff Garcia's 28-yardcompletion to wideout Terrell Owens--a play made possible byHearst's handling of a pair of pass rushers. Says Rathman, "Hebluffed the 'backer [Morlon Greenwood] and forced him outside,then came off late and knocked the strong safety [Brian Walker]off his feet."

With his snappy wit and endless supply of playful critiques,Hearst has long been a favorite in the locker room. Since hisreturn, though, his every move carries considerable weight.Before and after practice each day the team's training staffsubjects Hearst to ankle-manipulation exercises and soft-tissuemassages, none of which goes unnoticed. "G is probably the mostpopular person in this locker room," guard Ray Brown says. "Hegalvanizes this team. When we see what he puts his body throughjust to practice, our aches and pains don't seem so significant."

Now he's one glorified G. In late December the San Franciscoplayers voted Hearst the recipient of the Len Eshmont Award forcourageous and inspirational play. Another honor is on the way:the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year. But Hearst is mostexcited about his first trip to the Pro Bowl. Three years agohis parents and other family members from Lincolnton, Ga., hadalready purchased airline tickets to Honolulu when he broke hisankle, and returning them was particularly painful for onejilted traveler. "Ever since I can remember, it's been my dreamto go to Hawaii," Mary Hearst says. "Before this season, whenJerry Rice invited him there for a function, Garrison asked meif I wanted to go with him. I told him, 'No, I'm going to waituntil you start playing, and maybe you'll make the Pro Bowlagain."

Garrison's incredulous reply: "Maybe?"

"I didn't think it would happen," Mary admits. "I know he'stough, and I know he's got a lot of faith in himself. But whathe's doing is truly amazing, even to me."

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER READ MILLER NO DAY AT THE BEACH To help strengthen his legs, Hearst runs through drills in a sand pit at the 49ers' Santa Clara practice facility.COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER READ MILLER GOOD AS GOLD Hearst is averaging almost as many yards per carry as he did during his record-breaking season in 1998.

Doctors were stunned by the devastation. Parts of Hearst's bone"had the consistency of toothpaste."